First Wildlife Encounter

This Post is the final post from our Canadian adventure and covers the rest of our road trip. Thanks to Jude whom has done a great Job with hours of writing from her countless notes. Osoyoos now visited and enjoyed for a couple of days it’s off east again with our destination Christina Lake camp ground called Texus Creek. The long and winding roads and highways passed through little settlements Johnston Creek, Rock Creek, Midway, Greenwood, Grand Forks where the highway starts to follow the Kettle River towards Christina Lake. Jude’s driving for the first time and she did surprisingly very well…. that is until she spots something of interest and her driving eyes starts to focus more on the peripheral views than the road, but I’m writing this piece so she must have done pretty good. The climbs were many and reached some good attitudes on the highway east and Jude and I are needless to say very impressed with the roads that gently follow the undulations of the landscape. People have said to us so many times that Canada is like New Zealand but on steroids, we’ll all I can say is Canada must have been on steroids for a very long long time. The further east we went the more the views were definitely Canada and not New Zealand. We arrive at Christina Lake mid afternoon but we missed the right turn down to the lake… not a problem I said to Jude as there was another turn about a kilometre up the hill. No worries as we turned off the state highway onto a small narrow steep road that winds its way down toward the lake, spectacular views of the lake to be enjoyed.. although I was hangin on as Jude crept her way down behind the wheel of the Grunter, luckily she had very good winter tyres holding onto the road. Once down the bottom we’re onto the main road running north along the lake side, holiday homes littered the shoreline with their private beaches and jetties all along to the campsite Texus Creek campsite. Finding a lovely spot to park you couldn’t help being amazed at how clean and tidy the campsites are dotted amongst the tall timber of the forest all with the fire pits and picnic tables cleaned, the gravel well groomed, great facilities and bear proof rubbish and recycling bins. Backed the Grunter into her spot and decided to do a walk along a track running high above the lake. Spotted some little creatures called Canadian Pocket Goofers on the first 20 meters into the bush and managed to get a photo of one while he was on guard duty, then to the top of a cliff about 40 metres above the lake. More spectacular views and a reminder of how dangerous it is to children as we come across a memorial to a little boy who wandered to close to the edge. Back at the campsite and the camp custodian turns up for our payment to stay the night, a lovely woman who enjoyed a chat and to also remind us that a bear had been seen recently so it was important to make sure that any rubbish was disposed of appropriately. The custodian also let us know that their were another New Zealand couple in the camp ground and maybe we should go and say hello, ya never know you may just know them she says with a chuckle. Time for Dinner, steak and salads sounds great and before you tummy can rumble Jude has it on the table, shit it was nice. After I had done the dishes (nothing changes on holiday, Jude cooks and I clean) we decided to go for a walk along to see if we can find the other kiwis and it wasn’t far… about 30 meters and we bumped into them as they had the same idea to come and find us…. yep you got it, the custodian had also said the same to them. We start chatting and of course the question always comes, “We’re from Moeraki down in the South Island, Where are you guys from” asked Lesley (the wife of the couple). I replied “Central Southland”. Then she asked “Where about as I was originally from Otautau”. Jude says “Oh my god, what is you family name”? “Sprout” Lesley replied…. Jude “I’m from Otautau too” and that was it…. we chatted for the next 2.5 hours about all sundries. They had been touring since early May and covered some 11000 kilometres and gave us some ideas of what might be great to visit however most of them are in Alaska… maybe on our next trip here.
This morning after a night sleeping with one eye open and ears acting like close proximity radar (yeah that’s right… my subconscious bear scan) it was up for a hot shower… well not hot, warm or Luke warm… in fact I would say enough warm water to take the not cold but cool stage. Breakfast of something that resembles weet-bix, fruit and a cup of tea, then off to Yahk… yep that’s how it’s spelt so pronounce it as you wish lol. Jude is behind the wheel again as we head towards Castlegar, fuel stop there… and Grunter drains the wallet again. Hoping to get into Castlegar for a look around… Jude driving so that didn’t happen, obviously my planning skills aren’t that good. On the way out of Castlegar the highway climbs steadily up and the views of Castlegar and the Columbus River is amazing we couldn’t resist stopping at a view point for the proverbial photoshoot. Even though raining it’s guts out the motorway becomes even more spectacular from Salmo as it winds its way up and over the Kootenay Pass Summit… which is 1774 metres above sea level then the highway drops continuously for the next 46 kilometres into Creston. Entering West Creston we see a wetlands sanctuary and decided that we would check it out. The rain had let up and it was actually quite warm… grabbed the camera a light jacket and we headed off into the Wetlands walkway for a look at the wetlands life grabbing some nice photos of humming birds before getting caught in a heavy down pour… oh well got soaked and a quick hike the short distance back to Grunter to dry off. Getting into Creston township was a test and a half for new drivers in this right side rule but eventually found “The Liquor Store” for the evening refreshments. From there it was an easy drive 40 kilometres to Yahk where we will camp for the evening. Weren’t there long before the camp custodian turned up for the nightly rent, lovely guy though and we were impressed he recognised our kiwi accent, I congratulated him as most ask if your from Australia… funny how that little island off the coast of New Zealand gets more recognition than us. It’s all about the bears again as the camp custodian informs us that there is a bear around that has become accustomed to human rubbish and has been seen frequently in the camp. He then says that the smell of cooking food temps them and they are so powerful that if they wanted into a RV (which is what Grunter is) the beer would just demolish the truck… but don’t worry if you see the beer just yell at it and it should just run away….. “HELLOOO”!….. “SHOULD”…. holy shit I want the bear spray at my side and the national guard called in. Going to be an interest night lol. We camped at 860 metres, at the moment it’s 19:30 hours, it’s raining and cold, so maybe a good feed and a Black Beer would be better than a “black bear”.
PS: I had finished this write up until the fear of fears or should I say the fear of bears come to reality. We were half way through our evening meal when we noticed a man and his dog walking back to their RV suddenly come to a sudden holt and instead of walking along the road from where they needed to return they instead turned towards us while continuing to focus their look towards the direction initially intended. They seemed very nervous which instantly raised my heighten awareness of potential threat to life and limb. Moving to all windows to see what he was avoiding… fully aware already as to what it was we couldn’t see anything, but I did hear him yell to someone else there’s a bear over there…. oh shit I thought to myself while straining to see where it was. Now Jude who had not heard the guy say the word “BEAR” couldn’t see anything but did hear the noise, but because she didn’t see anything no matter where she looked decided it was not a bear. But then she got out of the RV and spotted the bear only 30 metres from her up a tree, says to me come and have a look at the bear… I did and there it was a real live 500Ib snarling, drooling sychotic black bear… well that’s how the frightened small cub looked to me. Ok it was only a cub and I thought if that’s the size of a cub, how f’n big is it mummy… and more so where the hell is she while turning my head 360 degrees like a scene out of the movie Omen, scanning the area for anything that resembled a larger version of this cub. It was at that point the camp custodian come to make sure we were ok and told me that its about two years old and the mother kicks them out on their own so she won’t be around, however we have seen my first real live bear.

The Reunion

We leave Yahk head for Cranbrook hoping to liaise with Tom, Kimbo, 2 Dave’s and Ruth. Cranbrook is a crossroads town where Hwy 3 and 95 bisect the town, we stop and have a wander around, coffee then hit the road again. Heading for Whiteswan provincial park where we would meet the others whom were a few hours behind us. Turning off onto a gravel forestry road we start our slow trip in…. 27 km. Now we have travelled on many gravel roads but this one was pretty rough and unyielding, the corrugations pretty horrendous as forestry trucks ruck up the road. We meander our way to the 10 km mark and an almighty boom startles us, we look at each other and think what was that? We re half way up a hill stop I get out and see we have a very flat rear tyre… oh dear oh well we’ll change the tyre, we manage to very slowly inch our way up to more level ground. We then discover no jack, wheel brace, tools of any kind in the truck… what to do now as there was no cell reception either, We both thought could be a long wait for the others. Made the best of a bad situation made lunch, surely someone would be passing through. Eventually a couple on a quad bike stopped we discussed our best course of action, waiting for a vehicle that would have a jack was our only option. Eventually after many cars by passing a big dodge truck pulls up yes he had a jack but no wheel brace so lent us the jack, as he was driving up the road a we ways to the hot springs and would be back… unfortunately we couldn’t use the jack as was missing the handle… our woes continue but soon another truck pulls up and a delightful young woman offers all her tools but no luck not the right size finally a guy pulls over with all the right equipment, tyre is changed in double quick time many thank you’s all round and off we go … no not into Whiteswan but to civilization to get this jolly tyre repaired. A big ups to the all the Canadians that stopped and offered help, friendly helpful and most of all very obliging. So off we trundle leaving Tom, Kimbo Dave, Dave and Ruth to enjoy Whiteswan Lake. We head to Canal Flats to get tyre looked at Tim the friendly mechanic said it was well and truly shagged! Oh dear off to Invermere next reasonable size town to get replacement tyre, now envisage this the Warehouse on steroids Canadian tire is the place! Anything for cars, house, clothes, you name it they had it! Thank goodness they had the tyre we wanted… our luck was changing. Arranged to be back first thing in the morning. We stayed at Dry Gulch Provincial Park lovely setting amongst the trees. The following morning back to Invermere drop the rim off to get replacement on, purchase a descent jack and wheel brace. Soon the tyre is ready so off to change tyre, done and dusted in double time. We decide not to head back to Whiteswan as it would be only for one night, instead we enjoyed the sights of Invermere and surrounding area, Radium Springs hot springs a delight.

Thurs 27th June
Finally catch up with everyone and off we go on and up to the Rockies. Now the trip in was amazing, the grandeur, the sheer beauty of these towering mountains there are not enough superlatives to describe them and round every corner even more, higher and more dramatic than the last oh my I was in heaven, poor Shane every couple of minutes I implore him “look at this look at that!” Up and over the Vermilion Pass at 1640m, then into Alberta, the highways amazing make for great traffic flow. We make our destination a fabulous spot called Silverhorn camp ground 115 km NW of Banff on the highway to a Jasper elevation at 1700 m. We are surrounded by these towering behemoths, White Pyramid at 3300m, Mt Noyes at 3000m, Mt Weed at 3200m, Mt Paterson at 3200m , the camp ground is well set out, toilets, rubbish bins and a beautiful river close by.
Setting up camp was easy for us just turn the key off. We then helped pitch tents 🏕 helped with a huge tarpaulin over the main big tent which acted as a veranda over the picnic table. Great setup. We were here for four days, fire pit, water, what more did we need.
Evenings communal meals cooked on fire pit, good yarns, music, beers and oh that stuff that is legal here in Canada made for good times. Of course very long daylight hours, till at least 22:30hrs, even then it was still twightlight in the west after midnight.

Friday 28th June
Overcast still can’t quite see mountain tops, so after breaking the decision is made to head Banff 115 km east of Silverhorn. Tom and Kim travel with 2 Dave’s and Ruth in their “Betty” and we take Tom’s “Beatrice”, heading out to the highway there was a steady stream of traffic going west and we wondered what was going on, was there something we had missed? we had no phone coverage… not many cars going east we pondered… Ahh long weekend coming up Canada Day 🇨🇦 everyone vacating Calgary we mused. Arriving in at Banff I thought Queenstown, people everywhere, beautiful soaring peaks behind the town, and every bit as touristy as Queenstown too! First things first Lunch at a pub, great food scrumptious pizza, soft shell tacos, salads, and big servings! Enjoyed by all, service brilliant too. After lunch a wander through Banff, but most of us decided we really didn’t need to go through the all the souvenir shops and there were plenty of them! Interesting Banff is mainly a summer destination. After a couple of hours window shopping we head back to camp stopping at Peyto Lake, a scenic must see stop. We pull into the car park it seems that every man and his dog was there. A short steep climb up to the lofty viewing point several hundreds of metres above the lake, what a pity the rain had set in, but still the views were awe inspiring and the blue of the lake incredible. We decided not to go into Lake Louise as Tom said you’re surrounded by thousands of people and the views not as spectacular as where we were going to hike in a couple of days.
Another camp fire dinner, the most scrumptious burgers, the smokiness adding extra flavour!
It rained overnight with the rumble of thunder around the mountains.

Saturday 29th June
Once again a grey day, Dave, Ruth and Dave were heading to Calgary, we decided on a day of relaxation and walk if the weather improved. It was meant to be summer but the rain had followed us to Canada! Tom and Kim challenged us to a game of Uno, now I hadn’t played this since the boys were small so needed a little of a refresher, what fun we had Tom cleaned us up winning by a handsome margin making 503 points, Kim 169pts, I 63pts , Shane fared badly getting a big fat donut. Next game was euchre, Girls vs boys well the battle began, each team scoring on their calls Shane and Tom thought they would sink us well you know what thought thought lol…. girls were victorious! Wow guys were stunned lol ahh they said it was the best of 3…. after a lovely lunch ( BLAT) we played the next 2 matches… now let’s say it all ended with an amicable draw…. much fun had tho.
We drove down to Waterfowl Lakes for a bit of a leg stretch … weather improving slightly, a stroll down to the lake, following a track round the lake edge Tom and Kim meandered in another direction, wild flowers splashes of colour doted through the woods very pretty. Canoes gliding across the lake, towering mountains draped in mist, all in all a very tranquil scene.
Returning back to Tom and Kim we were greeted with shouts of glee… Kim absolutely beaming, we’re are engaged she said! Well you can imagine our absolute delight hugs and tears and non stop congratulating! What a perfect end to the afternoon walk!
Returning to camp tea was prepared and cooked on camp fire 🔥 baked potatoes wrapped in foil, chicken seasoned with herbs and chilli also wrapped in foil, put on hot embers, oh my did it cook beautifully the flavour and succulence of the chicken devine, tomatoes, courgettes onions rounded off a very scrumptious tea! Of course a celebratory drink or two!

The Hike

Sunday June 30
At last a reasonable day we could actually see mountain tops towering above us. Up and about early as today we were off on a hike that Tom had planned. Breakfast done and dusted it was off down to Waterfowl Lake to the start of the track. All 7 of us geared up Tom took the lead with a can of bear spray, as you know there could be bears in the woods today… now Tom is a ” mountain goat” when it comes to hiking one pace and that’s flat out! I erred on the side of caution and didn’t chase him Shane and I decided to be towards the back of the pack with a can of bear spray. Track into Cirque Lake was tree rooted but still quite manageable, rather wet in places too thank goodness for good tramping boots! I felt for Dave Lindsay as he was wearing his golf shoes soon his feet were absolutely soaked and muddy. Of course we were scanning for bears. A gradual climb all the way, now part way through the hike Tom got a hell of a fright something had jumped out in front of him.. he wasn’t sure if it was a bear or what, then he spied a porcupine, now I had envisioned a porky as a small creature but he was rather big! Scurrying away upstream trying to get away from these pesky humans whom were trying to get photos of him. The day was warming up nicely. We didn’t have many views as yet followed a lovely roaring stream up. After a couple of hours things opened up a gorgeous blue lake appeared and at the head these amazing peaks Aries, Stairway and Midway towering above the lake all over 3000mts. It was jaw droppingly beautiful! The best thing no one else was there, it was our own private amphitheatre, Tom did good absolutely worth the 5 km in. We all enjoyed the majesty of the place whilst having a bite to eat, many photos were taken especially of Tom and Kim, Shane did a fantastic photo shoot and our group photo was brilliant.
Time to make our way down and onto Lake Chephran. We made steady progress, but I was struggling with a strain I had picked up in Vancouver to the top of my leg it was getting rather uncomfortable, but we pushed on. The trail to Chephran was positively boggy, rooted and rough now this didn’t help my cause but me being me, pig headed and stubborn decided to keep going, Chephran was equally beautiful everyone well pleased with the effort. More photos and a nibble. Shane and I decided not to stay too long as I could feel my muscle really stiffening up, so off back to the car park. A total of 15 km but well worth the effort and the pain.. everyone Tom, Kim,Dave,Ruth ,Dave L, Shane and myself were well pleased with the effort.
Getting back to camp at Silverhorn a well deserved drink, dinner and plenty of yarns by the camp fire, well not for me I was hobbled well and truly so popping pain killers was the only option for me!

The Trip To Jasper

Back on the road again… on the Icefields Highway, once again we marvelled at the vistas, mountains, big rivers, the Columbia Icefields magnificent. Due to my injury wasn’t able to walk onto the glacier but we got some very cool photos. There were many sights to marvel at on the way Weeping waterfalls, torrents of water going through narrow chasms “chutes” as the Canadians call it. We steadily head west and catch up with rain! Jasper reminded me of Wanaka without the lake. Summer being its high season and judging by the number of RV’s it was busy as! We head out to Snaring Creek 20 km north of Jasper to camp ground, Tom and others found a campsite so they had unenviable task of setting up tents in the rain luckily had big tarpaulins that protected tents, we drove a couple of Km’s down road to the overflow camp this huge area gravelled and set up for RV’s it was easy for us park up turn off the key! Lovely open outlook looking straight up to the Colin Range. We met up with everyone at a pub in Jasper for a few drinks and tea, met one of Tom and Kim’s good mate Adam an Aussie but I won’t hold that against him lol.. a lovely young man. Shane and I left the young ones to it and headed back to Snaring, watched a brilliant sunset going down behind the mountains and the twilight lingers longer than our southern twilights, 2330 hrs and you still see the glow in the west, of course we are well north.
The following day had a pretty relaxed wander or hobble for me round Jasper the rain had dissipated and was warmer, the campers had an even slower day as they had a big night out. Shane and I headed up to Miette hot springs for a soak hopefully to ease aching muscle. A beautiful drive up a narrow spectacular gorge or canyon as the Canadians say, climbing ever higher. Reaching the pools it seemed that many people had the same idea. Oh well in for a soak, 35 degrees only as rain had cooled the pools down. Still very relaxing. We spotted mountain goats on the main highway, they don’t give a damn about traffic and nonchalantly browse the roadsides. Elk were the same, I think humans cause more trouble getting out of their cars and taking selfies with bull elk, I would have laughed if they were charged by these magnificent beasts , as we know they can be unpredictable.
On return back to Jasper we catch up with the campers for a evening meal at an Italian Restaurant, good food, great company. Dave, Ruth and Dave L starting there trip back to Vancouver and NZ.

Maligne Lake

After farewelling Dave Ruth and Dave L we take a drive up to Maligne Lake, with the expectation of seeing bears! We let Tom drive Grunter so we could scan the roadside. We encountered a Bull Elk with the most magnificent set of antlers (velvet) he couldn’t have cared less about us, other cars were the only problem, instead of driving by slowly they come to a full stop and create havoc! Generally you know if there is wildlife about by cars stopped with hazard lights on. Tom’s eagle eyes spotted a moose, just in the bush, a big cow going about her business… this was turning into quite the wildlife mecca! Then there were the bears 🐻 3 black bears and a brown all very exciting seeing them so close. Once up at the lake the rain had really settled in, I made bacon butties for lunch which were thoroughly munched on… something about the smell of bacon cooking it makes one rather hungry.
Our trip back down to Jasper was equally exciting more bears and a bald eagle 🦅 perched high in a tree. So the trip into Lake Maligne certainly delivered!

Black Day

The day dawns rather grey but by mid morning the sun was pushing through and warming up beautifully, Tom and Kimbo decide its laundry day so we left them to it and browsed through the shops, me still hobbling and very painfully slow! Certainly had plenty of painkillers! Plenty of souvenir shops been in one seen them all. On returning to the laundry we sit and wait for the drying to finish. That is when I got a devastating snap chat from Sam to say that Our beloved Black Cat had been run over and killed, she was found by Sam out at the mailbox, apparently had been hunting amongst the flax and ran out of her nine lives. There were plenty of tears, many reflections of memories we had with her as she adopted us as suitable slaves all those years ago.

Heading South

July7-July 22 – Mt Robson or the mystery of the mountain in clouds is one of Canada’s biggest at 3994mts, seemingly she doesn’t like to show herself off too much, apparently only visible 12-15 days a year! Shrouded in swirling cloud, moody grey skies. Many other impressive peaks surrounded us.
We continue on the Yellowhead Highway pass through Valemount, weather now improving stop at Texas Creek campsite for night, a rather noisy rodeo was in progress across the fields
Thank goodness it was near finished. Very cool breeze coming off the surrounding mountains. One very unsettling moment was a high powered rifle being fired in close proximity of us we didn’t dare venture out of our vehicle!
We follow the North Thompson River down towards Clearwater, now it is very warm, finally away from the grey and cold of the past few days. We contact Jim and Dorothy Warman whom live at Barrierre, we met them at Okiwi Bay last summer. Jim suggested we take a drive to the Helmcken Falls in the Wells Gray National Park. A beautiful drive up a spectacular valley once again surrounded by mountains and of course trees! We reach the falls the 4th highest in Canada at an impressive 141 metre drop. Formed by volcanic activity, huge floods created the Helmcken canyon 10,000 years ago. The falls are a spectacular sight and many viewing platforms to get some wonderful photos. The day has turned out very warm, we then head back down towards Barrierre to catch up with Jim and Dorothy, arriving late afternoon in time for happy hour! They have a beautiful property of 26 acres with a lovely river running through, beautifully landscaped and a gorgeous house. An enjoyable happy hour was had then after dinner camaraderie round the campfire with toasted marshmallows or “smores” between sweet plain biscuit with chocolate! Sugar overload!
The following morning enjoyed a coffee, watching the hummingbirds feed on sugar water such delicate tiny birds and there amazing ability to hover in one spot was a sight to see. Deer wandered through the section and squirrels busily running up and down trees, we said our goodbyes me clutching a bouquet of freshly picked herbs. Such a lovely interlude, we were pleased to have caught up with Jim And Dorothy.

We headed south to Kamloops, now the temps were rising hot dry wind I could imagine that it gets extremely hot in this valley. We stopped briefly in the city then continued east to Salmon Arm and Shuswap lake, think Wanaka, being summer holidays it was busy busy, we pull up at by the lake have a bite to eat and contemplate where to stay every camp was full so decide to head away from the lakes find a lovely provincial park with plenty of spots, a lovely walk through the trees following a gorgeous stream gave us a bit of exercise after a hot day driving.
The following day we continue to drive east following the Eagle River Valley, surrounded by beautiful mountains and passing some lovely lakes, Three Valley Lake, Griffey Lake reaching Revelstoke, between the Monashee and Columbia Mountain ranges, Columbia River, summer mountain biking trails, white water rafting, hiking, black bears and grizzly bears 🐻 Winter destination skiing sledding, a mini Queenstown. Thunder rumbles around the hills and then the heavens open up what a downpour! The camping ground in beknown to us was situated right beside the main railway tracks, consequently at all hours of the night the clatter, screeching of wagons hooting of horns, the noise went on and on as the length of some of these freight trains was 3-4 kms! Sleep was rather interrupted! Oh and was a breeding ground for mosquitoes which delighted Shane 😂 NOT.
Thankfully the following day was beautiful so we headed up to Mt Revelstoke National Park via the Meadows in the Sky Parkway, winding 26km uphill through forests of cedar, hemlock( not the hemlock we know these are trees!),spruce and fir, spectacular views of Revelstoke and the valley below, elevation of 1835mts, Balsam Lake with plenty of trails to walk. The subalpine vegetation very fragile as it has such a short growing season. We spent a lovely couple of hours meandering the many trails. The historic fire tower is right up on the summit.
Returning to Revelstoke we enjoy meandering through the town finding some lovely cafes.

Leaving the following day we drive south following Upper Arrow Lake, catch a ferry at Shelter Bay cross the lake, these ferries are free brilliant service! Continue to drive down the east side, our stop is into Halfway River hot springs. Leaving the main road we head onto a forestry
road, corrugated, pot holes galore but we drive very slowly, we have all day we laugh an 11 km trip in! Finally we reach our destination a lovely campsite in the trees high above the stream, thank fully plenty of free campsites. Get organized a bite to eat then off to the natural hot springs, quite a steep climb down but worth it oh they are devine! My aching left leg muscles really enjoyed it! Of course there was a compulsory dip in the cold cold cold water too, well I did Shane was the pussy! We put the hammock up and it was oh so relaxing gently swaying, enjoying the late afternoon sun amongst the trees. A roaring campfire ended a perfect day a beautiful remote gem.
Nakusp was the next destination on the shores of Upper Lake Arrow, a quaint village, beautiful foreshore walk immaculately maintained gardens, looking out over the lake to the surrounding mountain ranges a stunning vista. Farmers market in full swing beautiful produce, cafes and the most devine berry turnover. We spent a couple of hours here before continuing to road end south following Lake Arrow to Needles catch the cable ferry to Fauquier. A very quick trip across lake on onto a glorious drive through the Monashee valley, incredibly picturesque narrow windy road, we had quite a holdup just before the summit as there had been an accident one motorbike had failed to take a tight corner and shot over the bank, fire truck, ambulance, police and helicopter in attendance. Fortunately he was conscious, so air lifted out. Apparently this road is very popular with bikers and some push it too far! Finally the road is clear and we continue to the summit and decide to stay the night at Lost Lake a, a serene spot to camp, peaceful, picture perfect small lake, the reflections were near perfect. We enjoyed this spot.
Lost Lake, a devine place at an altitude of 1200 meters, owned by a flock of ravens whom consistently let us know they were there their territory with their bird song, a annoying harsh squawking like a backing up truck. Surrounded by tall Douglas fur trees the lake is protected from the winds and is like a mirror. When we arrived we were one of only two RVs at the lake edge. I think it’s a hidden gem as unless you drive down the gravel track from the upper rest area, you wouldn’t know it was there. Got some of our best photos there.

Evely Campground west Lake Okanagan… First Nations Territory… wacky backy paradise… the weed wilderness. Jude and I just loved this spot for camping and we decided to spend a couple of days here. One thing we really enjoyed was the swimming, yep the lake was actually warm enough to have a refreshing swim and using our bio degradable soap very discretely managed to bath/bath. There we met a couple Ron and his wife Karen and ended up chatting as you do. Ron is an ex Firefighter so we hit it off quite good discussing the ups and downs of such a career. Karen who has First Nations blood was a quiet woman who didn’t really have to much to say and seemed to have trouble focusing on any discussion… soon become clear why…. yep she enjoys her weed…. why not as it’s not illegal in Canada. The following morning we were up with the birds for breakfast and it was obvious Karen had slept of the effects of her need for weed…. completely different person, intellectual and bright…. proves weed doesn’t kill too many brain cells lol.
Let’s admit it like most people we enjoy people watching and the next day after Ron and Karen disappeared to return home a new RV turned up and the entertainment began as we watch them try to back their 5th Wheeler into the campsite vacated by Ron and Karen. This elderly guy was struggling to back his RV in which was making some horrible noises as he maneuvered it in at different angles etc. I yelled out to him that we could swap sites with him as it would be easier for us to back in being a single smaller RV and ours was a more direct backing for his one, however him and his wife declined as they have been here before many times… their way of say fuck you we know what we’re doing. No worries so we just sat and stayed entertained as they growled at each other the longer it took. Finally they got there and what happened next really had Jude and I laughing our arses off… I heard Jude OMG’ing look at this… she had started erecting pink solar powered flamingos in a fence pattern around their RV and little ones all around their awning…. some sort of ritual for them I guess of who they are and we thought Karen was strange lol.
After enjoying a relaxing couple of days in the sunshine and warmth we head to Kelowna. Easy to navigate, lovely landscaping, buildings and main shopper Centre vibrant with plenty of hip eateries, with the lake it is certainly a holiday hub, as we found out middle of summer holidays and boy it was busy! We only spent one day here deciding to it was too crowded for us, yeah we are wimps just prefer out of the way places. Weather was extremely warm which was devine. The following day it was raining hard out, that put a damper on biking the Myra Canyon Trestles in the Kettle Valley. So we opted to drive down to Peachland on the shores of Lake Oganagan, a beautiful village with plenty of history the museum was a brilliant especially the model train display and when the trains started round the extensive track even more impressive!
We decided to head to Kentucky -Alleyne Lake Provincial Park west of Peachland, we climb steadily to the Penask summit at 1700mts, the weather now deteriorating rain and a very cold wind, the Lakes sit in a valley between rocky hills and ridges. We had no trouble finding a spot to camp overlooking Kentucky Lake a gorgeous turquoise blue, these lakes formed from ancient glaciers. The wind continued howl over the hills being at an elevation of 1000mts it was rather cold. We spent 2 days here doing a lovely hike round Kentucky Lake, well I managed to hobble lol… it’s a very popular area for fishing, it would certainly be beautiful on a hot day, unfortunately the weather had decided to crap out!

Merritt country western music capital of Canada, beautiful murals, games in the square, old fashioned village.
Stunning drive down yellowhead highway following Coldwater river thru the Cascade mts fabulous gorge stopping at Coquihalla Summit for lunch, continuing down the highway to Hope crossing The mighty Fraser River which we encountered up towards Jasper, it is huge now, was running pretty high and dirty lots of rain up country. We head for Harrison Hot Springs hoping to stay out at Hicks Lake… well that didn’t end well full park, oh well couple of options down to Kilby park oh dear full … options running out make a few phone calls Cultus Lake Full, back to Harrison Hot Springs manage to find a RV Park with spots!
July22-26th
Stunning drive down yellowhead highway following Coldwater river thru the cascade mts fabulous gorge stopping at Coquihalla Summit for lunch, continuing down the highway to Hope crossing The mighty Fraser River which we encountered up towards Jasper, it is huge now, was running pretty high and dirty lots of rain up country. We head for Harrison Hot Springs hoping to stay out at Hicks Lake… well that didn’t end well full park, oh well couple of options down to Kilby park oh dear full … options running out make a few phone calls Cultus Lake Full, back to Harrison Hot Springs manage to find a RV Park with spots!
Harrison Lake cold as! We thought a dip was in order as air temps 30+ off we strode to lake well that ended very quickly it was bloody freezing! Feet numb with the cold. Plan B off to bathes.. or hot springs indoors oh my that was devine. Lovely 2 days. I’m still hobbling god knows what is up with my leg certainly has curtailed the many hikes we wanted to do, bloody frustrating to say the least. Plenty things to do.. music festival, craft market, browse the shops.
Last day with “Grunter” head back to Vancouver to drop him off. We know we in the outer suburbs as traffic volume increases dramatically, Surrey is where we pick up our next van “Vanessa” a small retro Dodge Ram 250, interior done up beautifully. So my turn to drive her. Shane says follow me lol now this is the first time I’ve driven in such congestion, was rather nervous but need no be “Vanessa ” was as smooth as to drive and we made it to Grunter’s owners neighborhood without a hitch. Handing over the keys was rather sad as we had a blast in Grunter small but spacious and had plenty of get up and go!
Off we go in Vanessa back through heavy traffic heading out west onto the Sea to Sky highway, once again the landscape is dramatic big and beautiful we follow around Howe Sound heading to Squamish, our first night at Paradise Valley campground a lovely camp with great facilities, spacious spots too amongst the trees.
We head off towards Whistler the following day once again marveling at the mountains, visit the Brandywine Falls, 70 mt drop lovely vistas looking down to Daisy Lake awesome mountains especially Black Tusk, revered by the indigenous tribe of the area. Their history goes back thousands of years and reading the stories you realize how in tune with nature these people were, their respect for the resources, we could learn or should I say do we know better? Sometimes I think not!
We cruise on up to Pemberton stopping at Owl Creek reserve to camp, close to the Birkenhead River, lovely spot but the mozzies BIG, Shane not impressed. After lunch we head further up the valley to Birkenhead Provincial Park a 15 km drive on narrow windy corrugated gravel road, all shaken to bits we arrive at Birkenhead Lake nestled between two mountain ranges rather stunning. Black water Lake was another gem, lily pads, dragonflies, Loon ducks and of course mozzies. We then head up to Lake Anderson and the D’arcy settlement, rather a ramshackle cluster of dwellings unkempt sections beautiful lake though. We return back to Owl Creek enjoy a campfire of course toasted marshmallows and of course the constant buzzing of mozzies driving Shane mad. During the night the rumble of thunder reverberating round the mountains was dramatic with lightning flashes illuminating the camp site soon rain was falling.
Head back towards Whistler, stop in for a wander around big mountain bike destination especially downhill gondola take riders up to upper mountain, pity it was very heavily overcast it would have been a great trip up the hill. Of course skiing is also big here. Queenstown on steroids! We make our way back to paradise valley campground for the next two nights, visit Squamish and do the Sea to sky gondola trip. 2km ride from 36 meters asl to 899 mts asl. Views are absolutely awesome of Howe Sound, Coast Range, and the majestic Stawamus Chief a huge granite monolith 700m asl, very popular with rock climbers, it’s a sheer wall we watched climbers slowly inching their way up. We do a couple of trails including walking across 100m Sky Pilot suspension bridge.. looking north to Tantulus mountains. Mt Garibaldi and the Squamish river valley. Bald eagles over winter in the Squamish river valley, roosting in trees along the river and feeding on chum salmon.

July 26th
From Squamish we head back down to the coast to Halfmoon Bay for a change over of vehicle Vanessa for Vance, a slightly bigger version of Vanessa. Meet Guy and transfer our gear. Have a pleasant lunch over looking the Harbour, ferries coming and going hoping to catch ferry to Nanaimo, Vancouver Island. We didn’t have a reservation so it’s on standby. We head to the line and yes it was a huge line and the majority were standby travelers! We had hoped for the 13:30 ferry but that was out of the question! Sitting in the baking hot sun inching our way toward the payment booth, finally we made for the 16:00hr sailing, note to oneself make a reservation next time! Especially for the return sailing. All loaded we sailed off into the late afternoon warmth, a very pleasant 90 mins to Nanaimo. Lucky for us we were first off and able to clear ferry terminus very quickly, stopping to stock up on groceries and off to our campsite at Snaw-naw-as, run by First Nations. Lovely spot next to the coastline, and to make it even better I was able to forage for blackberries! Yummy. Pleasant evening chatting to other campers whom made us feel very welcome.

July 27th
Today we take the Ocean View Road north passing through lovely coastal towns, Parksville, Qualicum Beach, Courtney stop at Miracle beach for lunch before wending our way through to Campbell River hoping to stay at Elk Falls Prov Park, just our luck full or complet in French onto plan B Twin Lakes rec site sounds like a plan turn off highway down a forestry rode bump and bounce our way round potholes for 5 km and arrive at campsite luck is with us one spot left! Park up organize ourselves then off for walk thru the forest to Amor Lake. On return decide a swim was in order and lake pleasantly refreshing. A gem of a place quiet and far from the madding crowds.

July 28th
We decide against going further north to Port Hardy, so head down main highway to Little Qualicum Prov Park, arriving we drive round first section to all reserved but in the back section amongst the trees we find a spot. Head to Cathedral Grove to walk amongst giant Cedar and Douglas Fir trees, very impressive and informative trail. The girth of the biggest Douglas Fir was 9m, I know not as impressive as Tane Mohuta! Another interesting fact was once a cedar is felled it releases a chemical Off for lovely afternoon walk on the many trails with in park follow the Little Qualicum river as it cascades down through narrow canyons ( yes now used to this term we call them gorges) A pleasant evening round the campfire enjoying the peace and quite.

July 29th-30th
Driving towards the west coast once again spectacular scenery canyons, pristine rivers lakes and of course TREES. Major roadworks being undertaken at Kennedy Bluffs, massive undertaking blasting rock walls, we reach Ucluelet a fishing tourist village, we walk part of the Pacific Rim trail follow the coastline hoping to see marine and bird life, now being the Pacific Ocean one would expect to see seals, sea birds and maybe a whale or orca, but not a thing just the waves rolling into coastline, the squat lighthouse at Amphitrite Point was intriguing obviously massive storms pummel this coastline. The mournful wail of the fog horn could be heard as we strolled around the trail. This would be a great spot to do some storm watching but today the ocean was reasonably calm. We camp at Lost Shoe campsite halfway between Ucluelet and Tofino, enjoy a lovely evening relaxing. The following day we woke to rain! Heading to Tofino singing listen to the falling rain! Reaching Tofino a port town, tourism, fishing, whale watching, a surfing mecca , now in the pouring rain it was rather dash from one gallery to another, lunch at the famous food truck Tacofino now every other man and his dog had the same idea! A rather long wait in the rain but the taco was delish! We decided to head to Radar hill, once again the rain spoiled the view…. so our trip toTofino was a rather soggy experience!

July 31- Aug4:
Driving back east the sun did shine again…. we had a 3 hour wait at Kennedy Bluffs as road had been closed due to rocks on road from blasting….. finally back on the highway we reach Port Alberni decide to head out to Port Alberni inlet, once again on a metal road corrugated by the logging trucks I’m sure everything in Vance was shaken to bits! Arriving to a lovely campsite with fab views of the inlet, well worth the rattling trip in. A gorgeous evening, watching a glorious sunset mill pond water and gentle lapping of waves. The following day RAIN we couldn’t seem to escape it! It was pissing down no let up all day…so reading was the order of the day! By evening dripping started in Vance pots came out thankfully the rain finally eased!
Leaving Port Alberni the sun did shine! We headed to Snaw-naw-as campground back on the east coast for the next couple of days. Exploring Nanaimo, doing a great walk round the port area, Chemainus the “mural town” a gorgeous village with 40 murals depicting the history of the area. The sun kept on shining such a blessed relief! Camping next to us were two women, one ex military, Debbi andTrina a book keeper, we had plenty of laughs round the campfire we thoroughly enjoyed their company and some pretty in depth discussions on societies problems!

Aug4-5: Victoria
Now into the metropolis, people, traffic, motorways, busy not sure if liked it after being out in the wide open spaces far from the madding crowd! Highlights were Beacon Hill Park lovely trails looking out to Pacific Ocean, bloody cold ocean too! Beautifully maintained gardens, ponds and walkways. Parliament buildings exquisite Victorian architecture, Downtown Victoria markets, eateries, port precinct lovely to amble through.

Aug6-13: Vancouver
Early ferry back to Vancouver sailing from Swartz Bay across to Tsawassen a 90 min trip on a dead flat sea. On arrival we head to central Vancouver to drop our bags at our AirBnB…
Our week in Vancouver was exploring the city, luckily we were not far from central downtown everything within walking distance. China town, Gastown, Granville Island markets, cycling 46 km around the waterfront, Stanley Park so many trails through the park awesome park. We know that there is homeless back home in New Zealand especially in some of the larger cities however for us small time kiwis, the scale of drug abuse and homeless on the streets was rather confronting… scary to think that NZ is probably heading down the same path. Evening dinner cruise around Vancouver Harbour a highlight, watching an incredible sunset, great buffet. A city of sirens! Never ending wailing of ambulances, fire trucks and police.
Our week by very quickly enjoyed the city but in our hearts we’d rather be out the wide open spaces with nature. We had an amazing 2 months exploring BC only a small slice of Canada knowing there was so much more to experience, I’d safely say we’ll be going back sometime in the future.